Tech: Waze’s A Free GPS Navigation with Turn by Turn

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Quick, what are two common staples of Los Angeles? If you answered celebrities and traffic, then you are headed in the right direction.

Waze, the free and popular community powered GPS smartphone app has announced a partnership with Universal Pictures to provide drivers get voice guided directions from celebrities. The first celebrity to guide you from your favorite burger joint to the cheapest gas station near you is comedian and actor Kevin Hart.

The video above outlines the app’s features, including the comedian’s signature personality as your co-pilot (“Take the third exit! Wait. wait. Okay yeah, third exit!”).

To enable Hart’s voice, Waze users need only change the “Sound” setting in the settings pane of the app. Universal Pictures’ introduction of the new voice option promotes Hart’s new movie Ride Along, which also stars rapper-turned-actor Ice Cube, which comes out next month.

Waze users can report traffic jams and closures on their routes to alert other users. The app also touts a community of 50 million who band together to help you “outsmart traffic.”  It provides your basic GPS features as well: live traffic alerts, police traps, live re-routing and unique features like social media integration to alert friends of your ETA to the big shindig.

In addition to the comedian’s voice guidance feature, the Google-owned app is now available for download for Windows phone users.

What do you think? Will the comedians voice be something you can Ride Along to? Can standalone GPS hardware remain relevant in the age of apps? Let us know in the comments below.

Apple App Store: Waze

Google Play: Waze

Windows Phone Store: Waze

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